


The Hunter's Heart

by agirlnamedtruth



Series: Strength In Numbers [5]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Animal Sacrifice, F/F, Magic, Rituals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 15:30:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1474888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlnamedtruth/pseuds/agirlnamedtruth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was only one ingredient left to get.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hunter's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "the hunter's heart" at [Camelot Land](http://camelot-land.livejournal.com/). Can be set in the [Strength In Numbers](http://archiveofourown.org/series/81097) 'verse or stand alone.

Nimueh crouched, the dagger in her hand like a claw, mimicking the cat's stance perfectly. She bared her teeth as the sabertooth lion bared hers. It had taken her days to track the beast, longer to hear rumours of it but finally, finally it was within her grasp.

The magic Uther was calling on her to use was dark but thankfully up for interpretation, so long as the intentions were true. Unfortunately she couldn't get around the blood sacrifice but she could get away from the human sacrifice at least. The animal was still a hunter. It had a hunter’s heart.

The beast sized her up, not knowing the blade was the most dangerous part of her. But she stood tall and growled at it, playing up to what it was looking for. She wouldn't show fear. She wouldn't be afraid. She steadied herself. Let the animal come to her, let it make the effort. Let it hunt her.

She turned as the tiger circled her, following it with her eyes. It was deciding whether she was worth it. _Oh, beauty_ , she thought sadly, _I am so not worth it._

But Ygraine was. With her in mind, Nimueh braced herself for the attack, the would-be fatal lunge. And when it came, she caught the beast in her arms as if she were embracing it while her dagger bit through its thick fur and slid under its ribs.

The cat fell to the ground and she let it take her with it, stroking the sand yellow fur to comfort the animal as it breathed its last. It was a beautiful creature and it hurt her heart to kill it. But it was its heart she needed to worry about. The last ingredient. _The Hunter’s Heart._

She twisted her dagger up with precision, blood rushing out of the wound as easily as water flowed. It covered her, hot and thick and sticky, reminding her that this was not an elegant thing she must do, no matter the wonderful imagery the spell demanded.

She sliced back the fur and skin, into the muscle protecting the beast’s heart until she could go no further with her blade. She bore down, thinking on her sweet love and the happiness this would buy her, and she dropped the knife, plunging her hand into the cavern she’d created.

The cat was dead and the heart had stilled but tears still came to her eyes as she wrapped her fingers around it, pulling with all her strength. She’d stopped this heart. It wasn’t the first but it was the first she’d ever felt still in her palm. 

When she pulled it out, it wasn’t pretty. It didn’t seem like the same organ that created love or harboured hate. It didn’t feel like her own, which skipped a beat every so often or rose up into her throat. It seemed all too real now she had it to hold.

She tucked it away in her bag and pushed the dead weight of the animal off her but she couldn’t rise yet. She stayed on the forest floor a while, mourning what she’d taken away from the world and what she’d lost from it. What Uther was going to gain.

**Author's Note:**

> As of 01/01/18, I'm opting to disable comments. [More information here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13077201).


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